BikeAbout Log

Rider Notes: December 12, 1997

Breakfast: Since we ate so late in the evening on the night of our farewell BBQ, and slept in a little (having arrived back at the Diwan so early in the morning), breakfast was a few cookies and some tea.

Lunch: Breakfast was actually more of a brunch. We ate speedily in an attempt to get on the road. It was just a couple more cookies, and then we were off! Much later, once in Israel, we stopped at a supermarket and bought some challah bread (see the Food of the Day).

Dinner: We wandered the streets of Ashqelon for quite some time before finding an open restaurant. The problem is that we arrived in Ashqelon late in the day on Friday, which is when, at sunset, the Jewish Sabbath (and weekend) begins, lasting until sunset on Saturday. However, unlike Sunday in the U.S. or Friday in Muslim countries, where many stores and restaurants remain open, in Israel, after sundown in Friday, almost everything closes. Unfortunately, having had so little food — such a light brunch and only a bread snack in between — we were starving! Finally, we found one pizza place that was open.

Challah, or hallah, is a white bread baked in a braided form and used by Jews during the Friday evening Sabbath meal and on holidays. As we arrived in Ashqelon, we were all low on energy. Corinne disappeared into a local market and came out with a loaf of challah. It did not serve its ceremonial purpose, but it gave us enough energy to keep going.

"C'mon, man!" in Gazan Arabic is one phrase that's been really hard to learn, however useful it may be. We do all right with single words, but putting them all together is an instant tongue twister. Click on the icon , and you can practice some yourself!

It's time to tell you all about the sixth BikeAbouter — the Fish — who has remained behind the scenes until now. Actually, it's been behind andrEa too! andrEa brought her pet (wooden carved) fish on the BikeAbout trip, which she fastens to her back rack everyday, like a license plate. It was rescued from a shop where at least 50 other fish were waiting for homes, but none seemed to have the same special piranha smile that hers does.

This happy passenger (don't let the ferocious teeth fool you, the fish is a sweetheart) has been part of our group since the outset, and even enjoys some of the perks of being a rider. In the photo you'll notice the rose in the fish's mouth, which was given to andrEa at the Jabalia Independent Youth Union in the Gaza Strip. At the end of BikeAbout, Fish will be released into the Straits of Gibraltar, given a choice to stay with the sea, or give the Atlantic a swim. We'll see what it decides.

While the new city of Ashqelon does not have much in the way of history or contemporary appeal, the nearby site of the ruins of ancient Ashqelon is important and will help us bring another piece of the Mediterranean historical puzzle into play.

, the other four being Gaza, Ashdod (just to the north of Ashqelon), Ekron (near Qiryat Egron northeast of Ashdod), and Gath (just to the east of Ashqelon in present-day Qiryat Gat). The Philistines, whose origins are to this day unknown, arrived in the area during Biblical times and were a constant threat to the Israelites who also settled the land. The Bible is rife with the names of people and groups — Kings David and Solomon, the Maccabees, etc. — who led the Israelites in a constant struggle against the Philistines. The Philistines gave their name — Palestine — to the region where their known history begins and ends.

The exchange rate against foreign currencies is very important in every country you will visit. Today, given the ease with which money can be exchanged, at some shops and hotels, you have the option of paying in either local currency or U.S. dollars. While this turned into a problem on our last day in Egypt, it worked to our advantage in Ashqelon.

Today, one U.S. dollar is worth approximately 3.3 Israeli shekels. Oddly, our hotel in Ashqelon, the most expensive one we have paid for yet, offered the choice of paying U.S. $120 for our rooms with breakfast, or 500 shekels, which is more than U.S. $120 when you convert it back. Luckily, we still had a little American cash, so we paid with that!

Friday morning was a tough for all of us. In Gaza City, we stayed in bed a little longer than usual both because of our late night BBQ experience and because we didn't have a tremendously long bike day planned. As we sent out the last of our e-mails and packed our paniers and bikes, there was a somber feeling in the air. It was time to say goodbye to our new and close Palestinian friends who aren't allowed to accompany us past the border of the Gaza Strip.

After the remarkably quick security check — once again all our bags had to be removed from the bikes and x-rayed — we were on our way to Ashqelon.Before reaching the checkpoint area, however, we had witnessed a terrifying clash between two Israeli soldiers. At first they seemed to be goofing off like some young men do — sort of shoving, chasing, and punching each other in what appeared like good clean fun. However, in their anger, both men's hands reached for their guns on occasion, and that was worrisome. All violence is disturbing, but when weapons are so readily available, hanging from every soldier's shoulders, it's a lot scarier. Our rubber necks and fear slowed our bikes down, as did the fact that half the group was ahead of and the other half behind the tussle. The idea of getting caught in crossfire seemed like a possibility, which struck us as a bitter irony; so many people worry about violence in Gaza, which we had just left. One of the soldiers fell on the ground, and was kicked by the other repeatedly. The standing one then took his gun off his shoulder and raised it above his head to club the fallen man, but was stopped by the other soldiers. That was our cue to pedal onward, which we did. This was an unfortunate introduction to the next country we were looking forward to experiencing.

With regard to the Sabbath: In Judaism, the holy day, or shabbat, runs from sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday. This made trying to find a hotel at 3:30 p.m. on Friday — sunset was coming at 4:39 — a scramble, since nearly all businesses close, and observant Jews do not handle money. We circled around the inner city of Ashqelon via the outer roads for some time trying to find the way inward, making the process that much more frustrating. Most of us kept a fairly good attitude about it though — all except one, who also decided to exhibit poor cycling form to boot!

And far as cultural-adjustment concerns go: Whenever we hit a new city, we have to figure out everything, from public phone systems to public transportation. The first thing we noticed about this town were the rules of the road. Suddenly there were stop signs and traffic lights, and everyone actually paid attention to them. The chaos of North Africa was behind us. Even better, the road signs in Ashqelon — and throughout Israel — are in Hebrew and English. And the many people who seemed to speak English were helpful.

The next we thing noticed was the proliferation of solar panels atop the houses and buildings. It occurred to andrEa that the interest in environmental issues increases when a country's standard of living is high enough to meet people's basic needs. Only then is it possible to move beyond the obvious issues and react to global concerns like energy consumption and what is known as "green living." The solar panels above our hotel rooms were also evidence of a new perk for us: HOT SHOWERS for the first time in nearly a week!